Dr. Deqo Mohamed

Somalia

“Our camp is not like a village where people come out and in. We are a family – a family who carries their own city.

Deqo Mohamed remembers watching her mother study medicine. Not long after Deqo’s mom, Hawa Abdi, became one of the first female gynecologists in Somalia, the country broke out in violent civil war. Her mother saw an overwhelming need for medical care and shelter – so she decided to turn the family farm into a hospital and refugee camp. At one time 90,000 people called the Hawa Abdi Village home. Deqo says watching her mother was all the motivation she needed to become a doctor.

Today she leads all operations in the Hawa Abdi Village, including the 400-bed hospital, a primary school, a women’s education center and agriculture programs that provide a defense against famine and climate change. Deqo is a selfless leader with great hope for the future – she’s focused on meeting urgent needs by expanding food production and training more medical staff.